Internet Purchase - 7 day refund?

mcculjb

I bought a holiday on Sat 15/5/10 on the internet and paid with a credit card over £1000 in total.

Today I have found that I could book the flights via Ryanair and save over £500 so I would therefore like to cancel the flights / whole transaction, get a full refund and book the flights / accommodation separately.

I have emailed the company concerned (onthebeachholidays) although their automated response said it may take 4/5 days to respond.

Am I right in thinking that as this was an internet purchase and I paid with a credit card, I have consumer protection and can get a full refund if I cancel within 7 days?

Any advice appreciated.

John

gordikin

No, you can't as holidays are excluded I think.

4743hudsonj

No you cant

Regulations 7 to 19(1) shall not apply to -
(a) contracts for the supply of food, beverages or other goods intended for everyday consumption supplied to the consumer's residence or to his workplace by regular roundsmen; or

(b) contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services, where the supplier undertakes, when the contract is concluded, to provide these services on a specific date or within a specific period.
(3) Regulations 19(2) to (8) and 20 do not apply to a contract for a "package" within the meaning of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992[9] which is sold or offered for sale in the territory of the Member States."

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm

KeithP

What the others have said is of course true.

But you may be able cancel under the contract terms and lose your deposit, or maybe more.
How much you lose depends on how close to departure you are, but is sounds like you have paid the full amount.
You may still make a saving.
Do the sums and decide.

pendulum

Check out Ryanair's reputation for hidden charges and diabolical service before you even consider booking with them. They'd charge extra for the emergency air you breathe if they could. And they'd shut your air off if you didn't pay as well.

http://www.ihateryanair.co.uk/yup-i-hate-ryanair/

You don't have a right to cancel the contract you've entered into unfortunately and a full refund seems unlikely, check the terms and conditions for a cancellation policy as that might give you some options you can use.

mcculjb

Thanks for the replies folks. Looks like I've had it - departure date less than 3 months off so would probably lose most / all of what I've paid if I cancel.

An expensive lesson learned :mad:

As for Ryanair's reputation - fully aware of it but at least the charges are transparent and you know what to expect. At the end of the day its a very cheap flight and there are ways to avoid many of the charges - I struggle to understand why people complain so much about them - you get what you pay for. Personally, for a c£200 per person saving (3 adults = c£600 I'd be happy to put up with it).

Like I said an expensive lesson on my part !!!!!

Darksun

You're getting your consumer rights mixed up by the sounds of it.

The right to cancellation applies to all sales made on the internet (or phone/mail order) regardless of how you pay, it's called Distance Selling Regulations, but as pointed out, things like Holidays, Flights etc are excluded.

By paying on a credit card (or any form of credit), you get what's called 'section 75' protection. This doesn't actually give you any more rights, it just means that the credit company is equally liable for the contract, so that if you can't claim from the retailer (for example, if they go bust), you can make the claim against the credit company instead.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange#net
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

Hintza

A tip for you OP. Once you have booked a holiday etc don't keep checking prices, move on and do other things ......... it will only be upsetting.

I remember being on a plane to the US once and group of exchanged notes on how much we had paid for our tickets I don't think any two were the same and the worst were over double the price of the cheapest.